Wayne Rooney has opened up on a major factor in the emerging career of Kai Rooney after the Manchester United icon’s son is playing in the academy set-up.
Kai Rooney has decided to follow in his father’s legendary footsteps and has started his playing career at youth level with Premier League side Manchester United.
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The 16-year-old Liverpool-born talent has made two appearances for Manchester United Under-18s and Kai has netted once for the Red Devils’ youth team.
United talent Kai already faces huge expectations on his shoulders at Old Trafford after his dad’s remarkable playing spell at the Premier League club.
Wayne Rooney is considered one of the best Premier League strikers of all time and the 40-year-old etched his name in the history books as United’s record goalscorer.
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Manchester United’s Kai Rooney in action during the Under-18 Premier League between Manchester United Under-18s and Middlesbrough Under-18s at the Carrington training complex in 2025 in Manchester, England.
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Wayne Rooney points out a major difference between his career and Kai Rooney’s Man Utd spell so far
Manchester United legend Wayne Rooney was placed immediately under the spotlight after his impact as a teenager at Everton under David Moyes.
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The legendary former United striker’s emergence at Everton caught the eye of Sir Alex Ferguson, who brought then-teenage Rooney to Old Trafford in 2004.
Speaking on his podcast, Rooney admitted that he never had to deal with the pressure of social media when he was a teenager compared with Kai Rooney now.
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Amir Ibragimov leads team talk for Manchester United U18s.
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“Now, the difference is social media,” he told BBC Sport’s The Wayne Rooney Show.
“When I was young, I was in the local newspapers and so everyone in Liverpool really knew me.
“Now I have it with my boy who’s 16 and he’s on social media. He plays for my United, he’s sponsored by Puma and there’s hundreds of thousands or millions of people watching them when they’re that young, and I didn’t have that really.”
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Rooney has played a key role in supporting Kai during his son’s time in the United youth academy and made his feelings clear about social media narratives.
The 40-year-old United and England icon has insisted that it is “really important” to be acting in the best interests of someone else and feels that way towards his son.
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Ruben Amorim in Manchester United attire during loss to Everton.
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“Being a young player and going into the first team especially, you’re getting judged,” he added.
“Rightly or wrongly, you get judged and that’s where you need the people around you, people at the club or your family, to keep you in a good place.
“We can all get carried away with social media as well. So, it’s really important that the people who are close to you have your best interest[s]. It’s the main thing.”
Rooney’s legendary United playing spell ended in 2017 under Jose Mourinho and the boyhood Everton supporter returned to Goodison Park for a brief second spell.
The former Everton striker lifted five Premier League trophies, a Champions League, a Europa League, an FA Cup and three League Cups during his time at Old Trafford.
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